So we left Des Moines this am and took out on I-80 West. We took that to US-6 in the outskirts of Atlantic, Iowa. We stoped at the Valley Cafe at the intersection of I-80 and US-6. The 3 of us had a 1/4 hamburger (Dad), Grilled Cheese (Mom) and a French Dip (Chris) add in two drinks and the entire bill came to $17. Compare that to dinner here in Council Bluffs at a casino that cost $60. Back to the trip. We traveled South on US-6, which joined up with US-59, continued on US-59 until we got to the outskirts of Carson, Iowa where we transitioned to Iowa 92. From there we rode IA-92 all the way into hotel (A short two exits on I-29) in Council Bluffs.
Way, way too much arguing between Mom & Dad over how to drive. Most of the arguing coming from Dad and was because of his blood sugar that he has never really gotten control over.
The rants, raves, thoughts, and general knowledge of one person in Spring Valley, California. Hope you enjoy or at the very least, can tolorate it.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Final day in Des Moines
Well, today was all about my Dad and seeing where he grew up here in Des Moines. First we went to Aunt Minnie's house (?). We then went over to Aunt Hey's house (again ?). From there we went over to the Govenors mansion and the Clear Channel office that is just a block away from the mansion. We then went to the state capitol (we were there late last night, and were tailed by a Iowa State Patrol cause we pulled into the service driveway for too long apperantly, we only took two photos). After that we went to my dad's old neighborhood and found where he used to live and where he used to go to school. From there it was only two blocks to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Mom found a bead store and went into the store with Dad, while they were inside, I stayed in the car and listened to San Diego traffic and weather on Sirius satalite radio in the rental car, it was cool to hear what was going on back home.
We went to dinner at Applebees around the corner from the hotel. After that we decided to take a look around a Super Target. Then I came back to the hotel, and getting ready to take off to go to Omaha and Council Bluffs.
We went to dinner at Applebees around the corner from the hotel. After that we decided to take a look around a Super Target. Then I came back to the hotel, and getting ready to take off to go to Omaha and Council Bluffs.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Day 2 in Des Moines
Well day 2 in Des Moines found the Davis' going South back towards KC...no we didn't decide to forget teh rest of the trip, we were just going 45 minutes to the South. For those of not familiar with the greater central Iowa region, 45 minutes South of Des Moines is Madison County. Within Madison County is the famed covered bridges. There are a total of six bridges, we decided to see five of the six with the only bridge that we didn't see being the Cedar bridge. Check more out about the bridges here.
After we got done with the bridges, which took about 5 hours to complete, as the bridges are not anywhere close to I-35 and are widely spread around the Winterset community. The Imes Bridge whihc is the furthest SE on the "bridge road". From the Imes bridge to the Holliwell Bridge it took about 45 miunutes (mainly gravel roads). The Holliwell bridge was one of the two main bridges used in the movie. We then went to the Cutler-Donahue bridge which is in the city park of Winterset. After that, we went to the birthplace of John Wayne (Pilgrim!) where my Dad took the tour, and he was very happy since he is a huge John Wayne fan. The second to final bridge that we visited took us an hour to the West of Winterset to find the Roseman Bridge which was the other bridge used extensively in the movie. We made our way back to Winterset to have lunch and then finally to the only bridge that you can drive through the Cedar bridge. The reason why it is the only one that you can drive on is because it was torched by an arsonist in 2002, and was rebuilt with the same design as the original, and with the same materials.
We came back to the hotel for a few seconds and then went to Fudruckers for dinner where all three of us had Buffalo Burgers (YUM!!!!!!). We then toured Des Moines and found the Govenor's mansion along with the Capitol building and the first signs of actual damage in the downtown district. I will have more pictures up on myspace with all of the downtown areas and the area that my Dad grew up in East Des Moines.
Til later, c ya
After we got done with the bridges, which took about 5 hours to complete, as the bridges are not anywhere close to I-35 and are widely spread around the Winterset community. The Imes Bridge whihc is the furthest SE on the "bridge road". From the Imes bridge to the Holliwell Bridge it took about 45 miunutes (mainly gravel roads). The Holliwell bridge was one of the two main bridges used in the movie. We then went to the Cutler-Donahue bridge which is in the city park of Winterset. After that, we went to the birthplace of John Wayne (Pilgrim!) where my Dad took the tour, and he was very happy since he is a huge John Wayne fan. The second to final bridge that we visited took us an hour to the West of Winterset to find the Roseman Bridge which was the other bridge used extensively in the movie. We made our way back to Winterset to have lunch and then finally to the only bridge that you can drive through the Cedar bridge. The reason why it is the only one that you can drive on is because it was torched by an arsonist in 2002, and was rebuilt with the same design as the original, and with the same materials.
We came back to the hotel for a few seconds and then went to Fudruckers for dinner where all three of us had Buffalo Burgers (YUM!!!!!!). We then toured Des Moines and found the Govenor's mansion along with the Capitol building and the first signs of actual damage in the downtown district. I will have more pictures up on myspace with all of the downtown areas and the area that my Dad grew up in East Des Moines.
Til later, c ya
Labels:
Covered Bridges,
Des Moines,
John Wayne,
trip,
Winterset
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
MY BAD
Ooops, sorry, had so much fun in KC last night (not to mention I was trying to adjust to Central time) I forgot to blog.
Monday -- Left San Diego on Midwest Airlines on time (12:30pm). We got into KC right on time as we had wheels down at 3:30 (PDT)/5:30 (CDT). We got our rental car (a White Dodge Charger) and drove the 20 minutes to our Hotel. We got checked in and as we were driving into the hotel we saw that there was not only a Super Wal-Mart across the street from the hotel, but we also saw where we ended up having dinner. The resturant in question......Waffle House. This was the first time that my mom and I had ever even been inside a Waffle House, while it was the first time in more than 20 years. After dinner, we decided to go tour downtown KC. If you check out my myspace page you can checkout the pictures.
Tuesday -- Left the hotel NE of KC around 10:30am and arrived in West Des Moines around 4:30pm. In that timeframe, we drove around and attempted to find the location that the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails met (we couldn't find the marker though). After that run around, we continued North and then took a side trip to Davis City, Iowa....yes a city that has my name in it COOL!!!!! While on the way to Davis City we passed an Amish buggy on the way there. After that we stoped in Osceola to gamble alittle at my sisters hotel company. While at the casino I lost, while my father (JOKING HERE) the bastard won over $150 on the penny slots. We drove by where we will be in the next couple of days, the covered bridges of Madison County & the birthplace of John Wayne. We are in West Des Moines until Friday, so if you have any questions on Iowa, drop me a line. I'll try and figure out the answer.
Monday -- Left San Diego on Midwest Airlines on time (12:30pm). We got into KC right on time as we had wheels down at 3:30 (PDT)/5:30 (CDT). We got our rental car (a White Dodge Charger) and drove the 20 minutes to our Hotel. We got checked in and as we were driving into the hotel we saw that there was not only a Super Wal-Mart across the street from the hotel, but we also saw where we ended up having dinner. The resturant in question......Waffle House. This was the first time that my mom and I had ever even been inside a Waffle House, while it was the first time in more than 20 years. After dinner, we decided to go tour downtown KC. If you check out my myspace page you can checkout the pictures.
Tuesday -- Left the hotel NE of KC around 10:30am and arrived in West Des Moines around 4:30pm. In that timeframe, we drove around and attempted to find the location that the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails met (we couldn't find the marker though). After that run around, we continued North and then took a side trip to Davis City, Iowa....yes a city that has my name in it COOL!!!!! While on the way to Davis City we passed an Amish buggy on the way there. After that we stoped in Osceola to gamble alittle at my sisters hotel company. While at the casino I lost, while my father (JOKING HERE) the bastard won over $150 on the penny slots. We drove by where we will be in the next couple of days, the covered bridges of Madison County & the birthplace of John Wayne. We are in West Des Moines until Friday, so if you have any questions on Iowa, drop me a line. I'll try and figure out the answer.
Labels:
Des Moines,
KC,
pictures,
Terrible's,
traveling,
trip
Sunday, June 15, 2008
OK, its time to go
Well, in just about 24 hours I will be in Kansas City, Mo. to begin "the adventure" known as a major trip. The itinarary in case you don't already know has the family leaving San Diego with a non-stop flight to Kansas City. Stay the night (Monday) in KC to get used to the time zone and everything. On Tuesday, we travel to the dry part of Des Moines, IA and stay in the "flood zone" (Des Moines) for a few days. After that we take I-80 West to Council Bluffs/Omaha for the College World Series. We will be in attendance during game one of the best-of-three championship series at the CWS. After our fun at Rosenblatt Stadium, we make the journey down I-29 South to I-70 and finally US-81 to Wichita for the National Square Dance Convention.
It will be an interesting trip, Dad is happy that we will be touring the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, Kansas. My Dad used to run Greyhounds at Caliente in Tiajuana and other locations here in the US. Talk to you from the road.
It will be an interesting trip, Dad is happy that we will be touring the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, Kansas. My Dad used to run Greyhounds at Caliente in Tiajuana and other locations here in the US. Talk to you from the road.
Labels:
CWS,
Des Moines,
Greyhounds,
Omaha,
Rosenblatt Stadium,
trip,
wichita
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I can die happy now
WOW, that is really all I can say. I just (11:00am) met my idol, the Hall of Famer Vin Scully! I am working the Padres/Dodgers game today for Metro Networks. So before the game, I went over to where I thought Vin Scully would be and coming out of the booth was one of the Dodgers media relation guys. I asked him if Mr. Scully was in the booth, he said yes and asked who I was and where I was from. I stated that I was from KOGO here in San Diego and he said hang on a second. He went inside and I'm guessing that he asked if it was ok for me to come in and talk to him for a few seconds.
He came back out a few seconds later, and said to come on in. I walked right up to Mr. Scully and shook his hand. I later told him that the only Dodgers that I liked where Orel Hershiser and Him. I then said that in reality I hate the Dodgers but I loved him. He smiled and said I'm glad that I'm in the select few. I told him no sir, you ARE the few, since Orel in now with the World Wide Leader in Sports (ESPN).
So really nothing important on this blog other than getting to meet one of my idols.
He came back out a few seconds later, and said to come on in. I walked right up to Mr. Scully and shook his hand. I later told him that the only Dodgers that I liked where Orel Hershiser and Him. I then said that in reality I hate the Dodgers but I loved him. He smiled and said I'm glad that I'm in the select few. I told him no sir, you ARE the few, since Orel in now with the World Wide Leader in Sports (ESPN).
So really nothing important on this blog other than getting to meet one of my idols.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
The second 50 begins
Well, 50 posts down, a whole lot more to go! So much for my College World Series predictions.
For those that care, the CWS field consists of:
1) Miami
2) North Carolina
4) Florida State
6) Rice
8) Georgia
Stanford
and the winners between UC Irvine/(7) LSU and Fresno State/(3) Arizona State
As far things outside of College baseball, everything is ok, I'm going to officially start gettin ready for the big trip tomorrow with the fun stuff like washing clothes. I will begin packing on Friday for the trip. I have been put on notice that I might have to work the Padres game on Thursday. I hope that I get to as it will be my first Padres game of the year.
For those that care, the CWS field consists of:
1) Miami
2) North Carolina
4) Florida State
6) Rice
8) Georgia
Stanford
and the winners between UC Irvine/(7) LSU and Fresno State/(3) Arizona State
As far things outside of College baseball, everything is ok, I'm going to officially start gettin ready for the big trip tomorrow with the fun stuff like washing clothes. I will begin packing on Friday for the trip. I have been put on notice that I might have to work the Padres game on Thursday. I hope that I get to as it will be my first Padres game of the year.
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